Not many know the right answer.

In March, you probably heard about the demutualization of the Nigerian Stock Exchange and how its name changed. It's okay to be lost about what all these mean, many are. So, we thought to help with an explainer.

Like many other exchanges across the world, the exchange is privately owned. If this is new to you, there are many like you. �

� A stock exchange is a marketplace where shares of various companies are bought and sold.

At inception, the exchange was set up as a mutual company [not mutual funds]. That is, a company owned by customers.

This mutual structure comes with a number of limits. Stears Business highlighted them as:

1. Low trading volumes
2. Weak stance against the competition

In essence, the demutualization process was about reworking this mutual structure. Today, the Nigerian Stock Exchange is now known as the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) and operates as a public company.

To retain control in NGX, the Nigerian Stock Exchange was restructured into a holding company: the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX Group).

� A holding company is one that is created to buy and own shares of other companies.
____
Learn more in the market slice report for March here: https://cowrywise.com/blog/mutual-funds-march-2021/

1. Know your income streams
Document all your current income streams and how much you usually get from them.

2. Create a budget and document your expenses daily
A budget is your estimated revenue (from your income streams) and your future expenses over a period of time – say for one week or one month. Once you’ve created a clear budget, you also need to measure and document your expenses daily and then evaluate how well you're sticking to your budget.

3. Cook if you can or buy in bulk
If these still do not work, then find cheaper alternatives for fast-foods. This doesn’t mean you should buy from places where you can get food poisoning. Just don’t buy expensive meals at “popular” outlets due to peer pressure.

4. Do not go into debt
Speaking about peer pressure, do not live above your means if you want to save money as a student!
Also, do not be tempted to borrow money to fund “assets” that are basically just ponzi schemes. If it is too good to be true, it probably is.

5. Look out for discounts to save money as a student
Some software offer their services free for students so you should definitely enjoy it while it lasts.

6. Get a per-time job or internship
These days, if you have a skill, you can easily get a per-time job or internship.
Here are some skills you can hone that can easily ensure you earn more:
Social Media Management
Content Creation
Hairdressing
Make-up Artistry
Virtual Assistance
Software Development
Design
Thrifting

7. Use cash and leave your card at home when shopping
Have you ever planned to spend only a certain amount of money to shop somewhere, but spent way above your budget? Having your card with you while shopping can be a bad idea, especially if you are an impulsive shopper.

8. Stay home if you can
This might not be an option for people who school out of state or far from home, however, it is an option to consider if you stay close to home – especially if you are Gs with your parents.

9. Borrow textbooks or buy used ones
The most important thing is to be able to read the words in the books right? Then buying new ones all the time is not necessary.

Student life should not be so bad...
Money can be tight but you can begin to imbibe healthy money management skills now. It’s not too early.

You’ll definitely begin to see how your money can do more for you in school if you follow these tips.

__


The full guide/article has stories from four students and it is so relatable!
Click https://cowrywise.com/blog/save-as-a-student/ to read it.

With love from Ope,
your favourite advisor.

WHAT IS A DIP?

Investments are sold in portions. For example, the stock of a company or the units of a mutual fund. The prices of these portions change regularly.

When there is a drop in the price of a portion (that is suspected to be short-term) a dip is said to have occurred.

WHY DO PEOPLE BUY DIPS?

There are various reasons but here are the top two:

1. The price of a portion is cheaper.
2. They expect the dipped price to rise in the future.

But sometimes, you buy the dip and it just keeps dipping. �

TIPS FOR BUYING DIPS

UNDERSTAND CYCLES
Investments move in cycles. The prices of their portions can have upward trends, followed by downward trends. And sometimes, their prices might not even move.

LONG-TERM VIEW
When you buy the dip, you are positioning for a long-term objective. If you’re out for a quick price increase, stay away from buying dips. You can’t time the market.

CHECK THE BASICS
Evaluate the investment before you buy a dip. Is it really backed by instruments that have a valid potential of rising in the future?

In essence, invest in actual potential not buzz. It’s hard to hold on to buzz-based investments.

PLACE YOUR INVESTMENTS ON AUTO-PILOT
Automate your investments with a fixed amount. That way you get to buy more portions as prices dip and less as they increase.

The benefit? You spend lesser on the average than someone who buys randomly.

When we googled Sheryl Sandberg, the Chief Operating Officer at Facebook, the first word that stood out for us was “Billionaire” (in dollars).

Sheryl was invited to lead operations at Facebook because Mark Zuckerberg found out that she had been successful at her previous employments. She had grown every organization she worked for and Mark wanted a part of that magic. Today, she makes way more than the average entrepreneur in the United States.

She had an intrapreneurship mindset that helped her grow to C-suite level in her career. In this article, you’ll also find out why intrapreneurship and joining growth-based organizations are important for your career.

[Adapted from: https://cowrywise.com/blog/how-to-build-wealth-with-a-9-to-5/]

How to find a job in Tech.

More professionals are interested in working in the tech industry because it holds a lot of promise.

Here are simple tips you can use to find opportunities in the Nigerian tech space.

1. Hone your skills:
Your skill is the currency of the 21st century. You don't have to know how to code to work in tech, but you have to be exceptional at what you do. This is pivotal to positioning yourself for relevant opportunities.

2. Show your skills:
Visibility is now an important career asset. Deliberately show the world your skills and write about the work that you do. Share interesting stories about your role and abilities because you never know which recruiters are watching.
Remember, only the diligent man THAT THE KING HEARS ABOUT OR SEES stands before the king. Be visible.

3. Join communities:
Communities are like fountains that flow with unending updates and news. Being an active member of relevant tech communities will position you for employment opportunities. Also, attend events to network and expand your social capital.

Which of these resonate with you the most and which will you implement in 2021?

cowrywise.com
#Tech #Career

Have you ever walked into a store to purchase specific items but ended up shopping for way more than you planned?���

One lilac top leads to a purple shoe – because they match.
Or a brown jacket leads to a brown belt and tie – because colour-coding is your thing.

We've all experienced this so it's not just you.

This behaviour is called the Diderot Effect. It begins with just one thing that causes the chain reaction of unplanned purchases.
Eventually, it can lead to serious financial frustration if it is not "put in its place".

But when you conquer the Diderot Effect:
You can learn how to save money by simply being disciplined
You strengthen your wealth creation muscles
You limit your chances of becoming a hoarder

Shopping is war ��� and you have to be 100% aware of what's going on so it doesn't end in tears and numerous debit alerts.

Read to find out how to be in charge of your money and not the other way round...
⏩ https://cowrywise.com/blog/why-you-buy-more-than-you-planned/ ⏪

Knowledge is power!

Have you ever invested and felt cheated with the returns you earned? You are not alone. One of the most frustrating parts of investing is understanding how you make money from it.

In this article, I will simplify how three common types of returns work. With this new information, you will make more informed choices before you invest. The returns to be discussed are:

- YTD Returns
- Annualized YTD Returns
- Annual Returns

YTD Returns

YTD stands for Year to Date. That is, the returns earned so far by an investment over a set period of time. For example, returns from January till today. Hence, it can serve as a measure of past performance but not an assurance of future performance.

A breakdown:

If ₦10,000 invested in January has gained ₦2,200 so far the YTD is 22%—because ₦2,200 is 22% of ₦10,000.
On the average that means 2% every month (2% for 11 months = 22). But this doesn’t assure the same investment will earn 2% in December.

Let’s move on to annualized YTD.

Annualized YTD Returns

Remember, I said YTD measures returns earned over a period of a time. Annualizing this is predicting what the investment will earn in a year if nothing changes. Let's use another example. If an investment’s YTD at the end march is 4% we can assume what the rate will be in December if nothing changes:

- January to March is 3 months.
- Divide 12 by 3 and you’ll have 4.
- Now, multiply 4% by 4–that’s 16% in annualized YTD.

That is, all things being equal the said investment is set to earn 16% by year-end. To reiterate, when someone quotes an annualized YTD for you be careful--it is based on current performance and what will actually happen.

Try this quiz (answer at the end of the article):

If an investment has earned 5% by day 10 of the year, what will be its annualized YTD? (A year = 365 days).

Annual Returns

This quite common but still a bit tricky. If you see 10% per annum for instance on July 1, 2020, it means that you’ll earn a daily breakdown of that till the end of the year. It doesn't mean you'll have full 10% of what you invested by year-end.

In clear terms, if you have 100,000 in investment at 10% per annum you’ll earn this:

(10% divided by 365) * 100,000 each day till the end of the year.

So, if you invested that amount in July for instance it doesn’t mean you’ll have 10% of ₦100,000 in December. It means you’ll earn the daily breakdown—of 10%—on the invested amount till December.

Quiz answer: 182.5%

[Adopted]

� The climbing dollar
If you invested in a dollar mutual fund in August 2019, you’d have earned 34% in Naira value—today—without adding returns from the investment. Why? Within that time frame, the price of a dollar moved from 365 to 490.

➕ARM funds added to Cowrywise
This week, we added six new mutual funds to Cowrywise. You know what that means? A prop to Cowrywise’ bragging rights. �
For real though, Cowrywise is the platform with the largest pool of mutual funds in Nigeria. That makes it easy for you to compare and make smarter investment choices.

� Transfer window for retirement funds?
Yes. Before a—not actually—new rule, it was impossible to move your pensions from one fund manager to another. So, your fund manager could be giving low rates and you wouldn’t be able to move to another with higher rates—sad old days.
With the new rule, approved in 2014 but enacted this year, you can transfer your pensions once a year from one fund manager to another. �
The first transfer window was on November 16, 2020. It would be nice to have a football like reportage on such days. �

Do you have a retirement plan by the way? �

ARM is Nigeria’s largest non-bank financial institution and Cowrywise is the platform with the largest pool of mutual funds.

This partnership brings the total of funds in the platform to 19. It also opens up ARM’s high-quality and high-earning funds to retail space. Keep reading for details on these funds.

1. With Year-to-Date (YTD) returns sitting at 18.77%, the ARM Eurobond fund is one to explore.
___
P.S: YTD refers to returns earned so far since January.

2. Looking for a fund focused on halal investments? The ARM ethical fund, with YTD returns of 14.40%, is a good place to start.

3. For the thrill of equities and their possible high returns, check out the ARM Aggressive Growth Fund. Its current YTD returns sit at 16.61%.
___
Remember: YTD refers to returns earned so far since January

4. With impressive returns of 14.22% from January till date, the ARM Discovery Balanced Fund is great for investors who want a balance between high and low-risk investments.

5. For low-risk investments, the ARM Money Market Fund is a fine option. It is great for short-term investment plans.

6. Heard of bonds? The ARM Fixed Income Fund invest in them. Those who invested in this fund from January have earned 12.85% so far.

Thank you.

dawnomike:
You captured it perfectly well in your explanation

Last week all got news that the CBN will now charge customers for failed debits. If you use an automated savings/investments platform like Cowrywise or Bamboo, this might worry you. As you’ll have questions around what happens when a debit attempt from such platforms fail for you.

First, we need to understand what this law states. In summary, when a direct debit fails, the customer will be charged 1% of the amount of ₦5,000–whichever is higher.

With that cleared, your arrangements with online saving platforms usually involve debits from your cards. These are not the same as direct debits. A direct debit involves you signing a standing order for payments from your bank account. If it fails, the bank will retry automatically.

On the other hand, automated card debits are categorized as web purchase POS payments. Once they fail, they aren’t retried. They are not direct debits. Neither does a direct manual top-up from your bank to these platforms qualify as a direct debit.

Stay saving and investing.

Recently, a mix of trends has pushed more Nigerians to the equity space. For example, T-bills earn around 1.5% per annum in the face of inflation headlines that play around 14%!!!

A Contrarian Market
In September, when stocks were falling globally, the Nigerian stock market was contrarian—it kept its bullish run. And of course, this had a positive impact on its equity funds.

The Nigerian stock market experienced a circuit breaker, for the first time, this month

YTD Returns of Some Funds
From the plethora of equity funds—which had negative returns earlier this year—here are a few and their YTD returns:

1. United Capital Equity Fund- 23.42%
2. Afrinvest Equity Fund- 8.38%
3. Meristem Equity Fund- 8.49%

I have the full report here if you want to dig in.

What do you think is happening in this market, and do you think it is sustainable?

That is exactly what the guide suggests though. It only goes a step further to suggest savings after making some money.

sunmarouk:


story story, instead of trying to save, why not use it for tangable things. Money nor easy to save ooo, as there will always be something to spend on. During my time, my method of savings was to borrow other business corpers half of my allawee. when i collect it back the following month, i will have enough money to execute a project. i usually have something big to engage in, every two months. Starting from writing professional courses worth 30k each, and buying household items like fridge, television, industrial gas, home theatre, in preparation for my bachelorhood, thereafter i started buying phones. i still came home with 45k extra money. i served in the state capital of osun state where food, transportation and accomodation is very cheap. i trek to & fro work

That is why the focus was first on how to earn more.

naijadrivablog:
!

Save in this time when ordinary onions is expensive? No way!

No, bond and equity funds are medium and high-risk respectively. So, the capital can be impacted in some cases.

phrancys001:
Is it zero risk free on capital invested ?

Did you know that after a breakup some people feel better by shopping? It’s called retail therapy
___
A study in 2011 was able to successfully relate shopping to lifting moods, so it’s understandable why people participate in it.

Here are some other reasons:

1. It gives a sense of control.
2. Shopping is a form of self-nurture.
3. Shopping can be confidence boosting.

Despite the proven good, it has its downsides—like getting broke.
___
Ways to manage excesses of retail therapy:

1. Always set aside cash for random purchases and keep what you don’t need locked away.

2. Go for items with a return policy. After a splurge, it’s easier to return such if they feel useless.

3. Identify your triggers. Do you find yourself splurging on purchases after an argument? Gradually build an alternative response—like hanging out with friends on a strict budget.
___
Have you participated in retail therapy before?

Every month, Cowrywise drops a round up on mutual funds in Nigeria. It is always educative and written in simple English.

The October 2020 version was quite an interesting read. In October, a bond fund from Afrinvest—NIDF—earned 15%. Also, another fund—that invests in stocks—earned 12%.

However, I’ll just share details on the bond fund and why that happened. You can then read the full article, the link will be attached.
___
Bond Funds: The Rain of Returns
Recently, funds that invested in bonds have had high performances. For example, the NIDF fund had a performance of 15% in October. Remember that performance is measured by the change in the unit price of the fund. If a unit costs ₦100 in September and ₦115 in October, the fund has gained ₦15 (15% of ₦100).

When entities, like the government, need money, they issue bonds. The initial price of the bond is determined by how much that entity needs, ₦100,000 for example. The issuer (entity lending the money) agrees to pay a set amount over an agreed period of time as interest.

If the agreed amount is ₦4,000 in this case, that amount, which cannot change, is called the coupon payment. However, there is another important term known as the yield to maturity (YTM). When a bond is issued, the YTM is the same thing as the coupon payment. So, for the above bond, the yield to maturity (YTM) is 4% (₦4,000 divided by ₦100,000). Here’s where things get interesting.

Since a bond is simply an agreement that qualifies one to receive coupon payments, it can be traded. If one chooses to sell the bond, bought at ₦100,000, many factors come into play but we’ll use a simple example to explain things. Take the YTM as the interest rate (currently 4%).

If the rate drops from 4% to 2%, the issuer still pays the agreed ₦4,000. But 2% of ₦100,000 is ₦2,000 so something isn’t right. To balance things, when rates drop the prices of bonds increase and vice-versa. Hence, at a 2% rate, the price of the bond jumps to ₦200,000 (2% of this gives us ₦4,000). The reality is more complex but this is a basic example.

Imagine an Ali bought the bond at ₦100,000. Now that the rate has dropped to 2%, he can sell the bond to John for ₦200,000. It doesn’t mean the government is borrowing more, the selling value just changed because of the rate drop. Think of this as buying an item and reselling for a higher or lower value.
___
Read the full report here: https://cowrywise.com/blog/mutual-funds-october-2020/

For Cowrywise, you just need your email and an active bank account. It’s pretty straightforward.

Chuky7:


Hello bro could you guide me on the requirements on ...Afrinvest, Meristem and Cowrywise ?...

Would really appreciate...

Really proud of you. ��

Evidence1000:


I'm trying. So far, I've been able to resist the urge but not totally. I opened an online savings account with Cowrywise. Any little money that I get, I save it into Cowrywise immediately. It has helped me in a big way. So far, I've been able to save 6,000, something that I could never do before.

The said Osagie doesn’t work with Cowrywise. Hence, tagging him as Osagie Cowrywise is misrepresenting. Yes, he had an account as any other person can have an account on the platform. However, he misused it and was blacklisted.

Drann:


It's has been brought to Notice that online Instagram account squater who has been monitored And reported long ago to has been deceiving people with fake Giveaway on Instagram.

Following the report he was rrecently monitored has dealing with people who he scam omline using his fake Instagram account which he changes the user name currently to defraud over 500,000 Nigerians.

Sequel to this report it was brought to EFCC notice that Cowrywise Osagie Enegetable is wanted for defrauding cases using a WhatsApp number 07084786439 which is switched off but avaliable in whatsapp now other report revealed how Osagie Cowrywise has been defrauding people on the cyberspace, currently he was reported to have sold Instagram adverts and account to people without delivering or refunds.

He also went further to block his client who are the victim of this circumstance.

If you are a relative of Cowyrise Osagie Enegetable inform him to keep running because he must be brought to book.

The EFCC has vowed to follow up the investigation and has advertised telling people to report all fraudulent cases with Cowyrise Osagie Enegetable with providus bank transaction.

The first money step at NYSC isn’t to save. Here’s a list of what to start with:

1. Gather as much information as you can on mandatory living expenses. What will it cost you to eat, rent a house, and move around in your place of primary assignment (PPA)?

2. Estimate the monthly cost, and compare that with your monthly earnings. Do you need to earn more?

3. If your projected monthly earnings can cover basic costs, determine how much you can save.

4. Determine what your money goals are. They could range from your rent to payments for certification exams.

What if your PPA doesn’t pay enough? Don’t fret here’s a five-step guide to picking for a side gig:

1. List out your interests. I assure that this will be long a one, and that’s just fine.

2. Ponder on them for about a week, preferably at the orientation camp. This will help you filter your options.

3. Pick out the interests that will let you work remotely.

4. Take short (free) courses online to polish interest related skills.

5. Jump on opportunities with confidence.

It doesn’t end there, you now need to make sure these opportunities find you. To ensure this, participate in online conversations around your interests. Go further and share experiments—like mock market pitches if you are into market research. Then, reach out to small firms with a portfolio of your experiments.

With all these done, you can then consider saving using Challenges—where you save with friends together—through service year. To avoid stories that touch, you can use platforms like Cowrywise. They offer a service for challenges that allows everyone withdraw only their savings + interests in the end.

From a peak of 837% inflation to 659%, Zimbabwe is targeting an inflation rate of 134% by year-end. This will sound absurd if your inflation reality is built around single digits.

But it is hard not to appreciate this given the history of the nation. At some point, its currency got so useless the USD had to replace it. Yes, that bad.

However, the new government seems to be ticking a lot of boxes—from reconciliation to currency reforms. I am optimistic that if reforms go as projected, it will open up a new haven for certain investment drives. Read more here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-10-16/zimbabwe-sees-economy-expanding-in-2021-on-waning-virus-impact

What are your thoughts?